US announces $60M payment to Pacific Islands Forum for fishing treaty

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

The U.S. government has promised to remit $60 million to the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, representing the second installment for a 10-year economic assistance agreement associated with the South Pacific Tuna Treaty.

The treaty allows U.S.-flagged vessels to fish in the exclusive economic zones of 16 Pacific island countries, generating hundreds of millions of dollars annually in gross revenue for the U.S. economy. 

Christopher Landau, deputy secretary of the State Department, announced the upcoming payment during his remarks at the U.S.-Pacific Islands Business Forum, hosted by the Business Council for International Understanding on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. 

The forum promoted trade and investment opportunities in the Pacific island region and facilitated dialogue between Pacific island countries and U.S. businesses. 

Forum participants discussed initiatives, challenges and priorities in the Pacific island region and highlighted the United States’ commitment to supporting economic cooperation, strengthening commercial ties and promoting public-private partnerships. 

The tuna treaty, signed in 1987, has been extended multiple times. The most recent memorandum of understanding, which was signed in 2024, extended the treaty until 2033.

In exchange for fishing access, the treaty requires the U.S. to make annual payments to the Pacific island nations, which significantly contribute to their economies and development, while also providing the U.S. with reliable access to fishing grounds and a stable political relationship with the region.

The 10-year treaty obligates the U.S. to commit a total of $600 million to be paid annually, with the intention of bolstering economic development and ocean resilience in the Pacific Island nations.

The FFA earlier confirmed receipt of the 2024 payment in August 2025.

At the forum, Landau also shared highlights from his recent visits to Papua New Guinea, Palau, and the Marshall Islands, and emphasized the opportunities available following the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s recent selection of Fiji as eligible for a compact program and Tonga as eligible for a threshold program.

The forum also convened Pacific Islands Forum members, senior U.S. government officials, and industry leaders from key sectors, including infrastructure, natural resources, energy, agriculture, digital technologies, life sciences and defense. 

Federated States of Micronesia President Wesley Simina "conveyed his gratitude for the United States’ role in expediting the $60 million payment under the Pacific Islands Tuna Treaty for 2024," according to a press release from the FSM government.

Simina underscored the unique importance of the treaty, which he said "reflects the special partnership between the Pacific and the United States to support fisheries, a sector critical to the livelihoods of the FSM’s people and the wider region."

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